There is an uproar in political circles over the way funds raised from tollgate fees have been channeled to developmental projects, mainly in ZANU PF strongholds.

The tollgates, operated by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, were launched in August last year. As of March this year the government said it had pocketed US$12 million in fees and the bulk of the money has been spent on trunk roads rehabilitation and pothole repair.

Nationally there are 22 tollgates on the country's major roads that are cashing in an average of US$1,3 million every month. But eyebrows have been raised at the way the funds have been distributed to rehabilitate roads in only some of the provinces.

The weekly Zimbabwe Independent reported Friday that Robert Mugabe's rural home district of Zvimba, and some nearby districts in the area, have controversially grabbed the largest amounts of money from tollgate fees collected nationwide.

The paper said the move has caused shock in political and civil society circles, adding that it also confirms the skewed distribution of resources in the country, with most resources being allocated to areas where Mugabe and his closest cronies hail from.

Mugabe and his loyalists have over the years been accused of grabbing national resources to develop their own regions, at the expense of others. This has created imbalances in national development and angered other regions which felt marginalized.

Out of the US$15 million distributed so far, areas perceived to be ZANU PF strongholds have benefitted the most. Bindura got US$2,6 million and Zvimba slightly more than US$2 million. Mhondoro-Ngezi in Mashonaland West got US$1,8 million.

The Independent says all the top six beneficiaries of tollgate money are in the Mashonaland provinces, Bindura (Mashonaland Central), Zvimba (Mashonaland West), Mhondoro-Ngezi (Mashonaland West), Chaminuka (Mashonaland East, US$510 000), Mazowe (Mashonaland Central, US$190 000), and Pfura (Mashonaland Central, US$137 655) .